[staff-physics-and-astronomy-HL-UHD-UD] Message on C&M reorganisation

[Dahlberg, J.D. (Jordi)]

Dear all,

Please find below a message from Marjan Huisman, head of the Communications and Marketing (C&M) department.

Best,
Jordi

Dear colleagues,

This spring, the Communications & Marketing (C&M) department will reorganise. The significant cost-cutting mandate requires tough decisions and a shift in focus towards a department that focusses on three core tasks: student recruitment, engaging staff and students with the VU as a whole and strengthening the VU brand. On March 3rd, the Executive Board of the university took a final decision on this new direction and the consequences it entails. The changes will take effect from the 1st of May. The consequences are summarized below.

Dedicated advisor and centralised implementation
It is not easy to restructure whilst making more focused choices, but it is necessary to improve our services and deploy available resources and staff effectively. Among other things, the change of direction means we are moving away from faculty-based teams. We will retain a dedicated advisor for each faculty and organise implementation centrally, so that we can respond more flexibly to requests and increase our collective impact.

Impact within the Faculty of Science
The reorganisation naturally also affects the entire C&M team at the Faculty of Science (FoS). A dedicated point of contact will be appointed for the faculty, and the delivery of C&M services will be centrally coordinated.
Alfred van Luttikhuizen will remain the permanent point of contact for the FoS in an advisory capacity. Melissa van der Vlugt, Daryl Jie, Debbie Hieuw Kin Koen, and Talissa Willard will soon take on new roles within the restructured organisation of the C&M department, and Romano Koeiman will continue in his role as student assistant until mid-July. Unfortunately, we are saying goodbye to three colleagues: Tomer Gal, Jurgen Sijbrandij and Pieter Jan Kerstens.

New arrangements
Over the coming weeks, Alfred and I will be making new arrangements regarding collaboration with the Faculty Board. Until 1 May, your usual point of contact for the programmes will remain the same; Jurgen, Tomer and Pieter Jan will contact you directly regarding ongoing matters. We will inform you in good time about who to contact with which questions from 1 May onwards.

Understanding
We realise that this is an intense period for everyone. That is why we, the C&M Management Team, will continue to provide personal support, attention and clear communication. We ask you to bear in mind the circumstances in which the team is currently operating. Should any issues arise, Esther van den Hengel and I would like to hear about them as soon as possible, so that we can work together to find a suitable solution.

Kind regards,
Marjan Huisman
Head of Communications & Marketing

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